It was a long night after crossing the Atlantic. I got to the airport and indeed the big signs of ‘Welcome’ and “TAAM SHEL BAIT” (taste of home) had a special appeal. It was 3:30 in the morning when I took the Taxi. The driver was very talkative and wanted to know where I am coming from, are the stories that he had heard on America true. Specifically he wanted to know if I went to the Twins to see the city from the tallest buildings etc, etc.
I replied shortly: “Yes, New York is as everybody said”. For the Twins, I replied: “No, there is no elevator there anymore”… I tried to be polite but at the same time to keep our touristy discussion to a minimum. The Taxi driver turned out to be quite sensitive to my poor situation and told me very proudly: “Please tell me where, and I will take you, I have a new GPS, just tell me the address and the GPS will show me the way”. Indeed, I shared with him the importance of the GPS technology and even told him that I may soon buy one for my own car. My address is Nave Sha’anan 18, I told him, and 2 minutes later, I was asleep, this time very confident that in 45 min I am at home and to my bed. The next thing I know isthat the Taxi driver wakes me up and tells me: “It took me only 40 min but I can not find the house number”. A bit hazy I looked from the window and saw that the landscape is quite unfamiliar, actually, there is a complete darkness around me and no real road. I told my driver: “well, I do not see the number as well, where are we?” and my driver insists, in the address you gave me, exactly as the GPS told me. He typed again my address and I see “ NUN, as NUN, VAV is BEIT, HEY is YOD and then a space and SHIN is SAMECH and for the rest the ‘clever GPS’ completed the missing letters, I realized that I am in NEBI SAMUEL… I told me driver, it is NAVEH with VAV and HEY but at that time he told me, I know the guy that sold me the GPS cheated me and it is no good, I told him that not all the streets are there. I immediately agreed and told him, no problem, I know the way and we do not need any GPS. Go straight, turn right, turn left…. I got home after another 40 minutes at dawn and decided not to buy a GPS to our own car.